After getting rear-ended, scooter dies going over 5 MPH By mike904 (Read 1,286 times)

[mike904]

Hello,

I got  rear-ended yesterday sitting at a red light.  I got knocked about 5 feet forwards, and didn't fall over.  It appeared the only damage was to the assembly around the air filter.  However,  it won't go over about 5 mph now.  When I give it more gas it dies.  It nearly dies going up a slight hill (it dies when I try to give it more gas).  I ducked taped the assembly around the air filter to patch the holes, but that didn't change anything.  (The damage was to the outside of the assembly, not the inside behind the air filter.)  I inspected for a loose vacuum line, but the lines look okay.  Suggestions?  I have only ridden it twice since the accident - I finished going to work, and I rode it home.

(I have a 2012 TaoTao Cy50B, retro model. It appears they don't want you to open the carburator. I followed online instructions on what you should do when you first get one of these, which said to clean the carb. However, they put screws on there (accessible under the seat) that are so soft they immediately strip with the slightest pressure from a brand new screwdriver. So, I never initially cleaned the carb. I did adjust the valves and I put in an Iridium spark plug. It has ran great for 1.5 years with zero problems.)


Thanks,

Mike

[cyborg]

crack in intake manifold? i would disassemble the whole thing ,,,your going to have to repair or change parts anyways

[Deleted]

yeah your losing vaccuum somewhere. check for loose hoses and as cyborg said to check your intake for leaks

[twowheeler]

Could have shifted the whole assembly. The carb and tube and airbox all basically are held on by those two intake bolts. ZRemove all and inspect. Check electrical connections to coil and cdi as well. Impact may have jiggled them a bit. Got to be simple. The last Tao Tao I had was wrecked 3 times much worse than yours and never had running problems after that!

[mike904]

I don't see a crack. I was hoping there was something quick and obvious.

[kz1000st]

I would check the other end and see if the exhaust system crimped somewhere. The old potato in the exhaust pipe thing.

[mike904]

twowheeler - The impact wasn't strong enough to break the screws and plastic on the back of the air filter assembly. It just broke the front (outside) of it. The back part would have easily broken, and to shift anything forward into the carburetor that would need to have broken.

Inspecting the carb I noticed there is a small hose coming down for a couple inches that is not attached to anything. The end of it is cut at an angle. It is on the left side of the carb if sitting in the seat. There is nothing within reach of it for it to attach to, and due to the angle cut it seems to me it's supposed to be free. At the bottom of the carb, at the back, there is a nipple with nothing attached to it, and nothing near it that could attach to it. It is also not clean or shiny like there was something on it recently.

[mike904]

Here are two images showing that the back of the air filter assembly is firmly attached (the circled parts are where it's attached to the frame). That would have needed to break to jam the connecting piece into the carburetor.

i.imgur.com/jsCUSk5.jpg
i.imgur.com/YOW3OHL.jpg

[cyborg]

KZ has a point also,,,,i'd check the exhaust to see if it got pinched,,,,,,

[cyborg]

And not to derail the thread,,,,BUT who's the babe with the rack? please tell me that's your wife,,or girlfriend,,,,you'll be my hero forever,,,lie to me,, anything,,, i'll believe you

[cyborg]

double also i would inspect the carb to make sure none of the airbox shed off a shard and is inside the carb,,,this would be very bad

[cyborg]

Just checked your pics,,,breaks don't look horrible to me,,,repairable if you can't find a new replacement or don't want to spend any dough,,,nice pics by the way

[mike904]

cyborg - Someone at work also mentioned the possibility of debri getting into the carb. The air filter didn't come off, and I don't think anything got behind it. The broken plastic was all on the outside.

kz1000st - The exhaust from the engine is all metal. I don't see how it could have got pinched.

[cyborg]

Well one of the things that may have happened also (even remote it may be) you (the carb) may have had dirt in the bottom of the carb bowl that got dislodged from the impact got sucked up and plugged a jet and it is still a possibility that the exhaust has a pinch in it and is choking off the flow

[rob63]

Does the engine rev freely when the bike is on it`s centre stand ?
I`d consider taking the airbox off completely and having a look down into the carb to make sure there are no shards stuck in there. Then take it up the road, it should still run faster than 5mph even with the airbox off.
If still no joy then remove the exhaust and give it another run to see if that makes a difference.
Accidents are weird things and can dislodge the most unusual items which don`t even warrant a second thought normally. The secret is to physically eliminate certain items to try and find the problem, it`s no use saying "I don`t see how...." as you have to get your hands dirty to get things sorted.